The Real Reason Younger Was Canceled

For over six seasons, TV Land's dramedy Younger has captivated audiences with the adventures of Liza Miller (Sutton Foster), who at 40 years old pretends to be in her late 20s in order to land a job at a publishing firm in Brooklyn (via The Atlantic). However, 2021 will mark the final season of the show, which is set to air this spring. But why exactly was Younger canceled in the first place?

In September 2020, showrunner Darren Star announced that he was "unofficially planning [Season 7] as a final season," he told TV Line. "The action of Younger sort of picks up where the last season left off, which was before the pandemic," Star added. The series will continue to explore Liza's drama-filled personal life, via a synopsis provided by The Hollywood Reporter, as well as new career decisions for Kelsey (Hilary Duff) and where they'll take her.

Due to the pandemic, filming for season 7 was put on hold indefinitely. Once production resumed late last year, ViacomCBS "announced that the previously greenlit seventh season would be the final run" for the series (via The Hollywood Reporter). Having only just wrapped filming, the final outing for Younger will premiere on April 12 (via AV Club) on Paramount+, with the first four episodes available to stream straight away. There will be 12 episodes overall, and the whole season will eventually air on TV Land in late 2021.

While there's no specific reason for Younger's cancellation, the viewing figures for season 6 weren't exactly great. According to TV Series Finale, the sixth season averaged a rating of 0.13 and pulled in 580,000 viewers. Compared to season 5, "that's down by 39% and 14%, respectively."

Whether low ratings and viewership were the cause of Younger's downfall is unknown, but it's likely to be a major contributing factor.

However, the story of Younger isn't coming to a complete close. In October 2020, Star confirmed that Hilary Duff will continue her role as Kelsey in a Younger spin-off. "It's just something we've been thinking about," Star told the Associated Press while promoting his Netflix show Emily in Paris (via ET Canada). "I love Hilary Duff, and I think it's going to be something that [will] possibly be a whole different show than Younger but sort of it would be her character." While a network hasn't been determined for the show, "sources indicated the Paramount Network is a likely choice."